


Happy Halloween!

by Alryetagory



Category: Original Work
Genre: Cute, F/M, Made-up legend, No beta; we die like Idiots!, Original Characters - Freeform, a bit spooky, tragic, witches and demons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:47:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27236737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alryetagory/pseuds/Alryetagory
Summary: Just a made up little Legend I came up with for Halloween/Samhain/Day of the Dead/ O'Hallow's Eve!
Relationships: OMC/OFC
Kudos: 1





	Happy Halloween!

There once was a Witch in the woods. She lived quietly alone, surrounded by a grove of trees that bloomed with sweet smelling flowers in the spring and turned into beautiful flames of red, orange and yellow leaves during the fall. She ate mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. Sometimes, she would come to town to purchase or trade for fresh meat from the butcher's shop. She never caused harm or bothered anyone. But still she was a Witch and that meant the town folk avoided her woods as best they could. However, one day during the last few remaining warm days of Autumn a terrible accident happened. The Witch was down by the river doing her wash when a group from the village attacked her. She asked what they were doing and why they were attacking her, but they refused to speak. Some even mocked her genuine confusion, thinking she was playing dumb on purpose.

However her answers came when she was thrown into the dirt of the town square. When she sat up she gasped seeing the mangled bodies of the Mayor's youngest daughter, the middle daughter of the town pastor and the oldest boy of the town huntsman. They were torn apart by some feral animal. She looked around knew that no matter what she said, they would still blame her. She knew her kind was feared and with good reason too, but she wasn't like some of the more dangerous Witches, she lived a calm peaceful life, she helped others whenever possible and only hurt someone who hurt her or was attacking an innocent. She looked back at the children and crawled forward. She began to chant, healing their wounds so they can look good for their funerals.

As soon as she was done, she was grabbed and dragged away to the court house. She stood trail, listening to all the lies and falsehoods being tossed around as evidence. She did not try to defend herself in anyway. She had no reason to if no one would believe her. She was placed in irons and placed in a cell to await her execution after the funerals and mourning periods of the three families. In their time the mourning period lasted a whole year the children were buried a day after one another. She mourned for the three children who died, but she had not done anything to them and it killed her that she could not have done something to protect them. No one but the town lawmen came near her and they only came to give her a bucket to wash, to collect her side pan and bring her simple broth and day old bread.

Some said she did not deserve to eat or to live, but they would not break tradition. Only one guard was nice to her, he was an older gentleman, she remembered him. She made the medicine that helped ease the lung sickness his late wife had suffered from. He said that it made it easier for her to pass on. He always came to sit with her at night, he talk about his wife, back when she was alive and full of life and even as she grew ill and finally died. He would talk about how they had never had child of their own and that his wife if she were here would have thrown her good skillet at the lot of the fools. He knew the Witch wasn't responsible for the deaths of those children and that it wasn't fair to blame her. She told him it was fine and that she accepted her fate. Sure she was scared and didn't want to die, but what could she do? If she fled, they would hunt her down.

They talked for months and she could not help but fall in love with him. One night, three months into the mourning period, he opened her cell and helped her wash her hair, he carefully braided flowers into her beautiful black hair. She does not know what triggered it but the feel of rough working hands in her hair made her give in to her desire. They made love that night under a full moon and she could not help but beg the Mother Moon for one last mercy. When she woke the next morning, she was not in her cell, nor was she home. She did not know where she was and it scared her. She was dressed in a soft night gown, the material was fine, something only royals could afford and those who were poor had to work an entire life time to buy a single strip of it.

She startles when the door opens and the kind lawman walks in, holding a fancy bed table laid with something hot and heavenly. He blinks and smiles at her. He tells her he made her breakfast and lays it on her lap. She blinks confused and asked him what happened and he admits he has loved her since just before his wife had passed and that she had known, had given him permission to pursue her as her last wish. He never made the move because he had to mourn her and then work kept him busy. She blushed and he gently cups her cheek. She touched his big hand and nuzzled it with a soft sound. He tells her to eat and she digs in, ravenous after having thin broth and hard bread only twice a day. The porridge was thick and creamy, sweetened with honey and fresh berries. It was so good!

He tells her he brought her to his home and she panicked, but he laughs and tells her that he only works as a lawman because he his board and the house in the town was something he bought to make it easier on his wife and himself instead of spending all day or all night traveling to and from his home. He pulls out a lovely dress, again made of fine material and lays it out for her and directs her to the changing screen when she is done eating. He kisses her brow and leaves her in peace. She does not know what to think or how to react. His late wife was indeed a lucky woman up until her final breath. She prayed that the woman's spirit rests easy and thanks her for allowing her this lovely chance at happiness. She finishes her meal and carefully sets the tray on the floor before she gets up and grabs the dress and moves to the changing screen. She finds a metal bowl of water sitting on a strange table and gasps when it is warm to the touch.

She grabs the bar of soap and washes herself as thoroughly as she can, enjoying the warmed water. She had seen a pipe leading into the bottom of the table and when she touched the wood, it too was very warm to the touch. If she had to guess, there was a stove that was strictly for heating up water connected to the pipe. Indeed only the rich and royal courts could have such a thing. Just who was her kindly Lawman? Getting dress, she admired the long rich green skirt of her dress and the soft creamy yellow of her top. She found the vanity behind another screen and combed out her hair, blushing at the ruined flowers that clung to her hair still. She carefully picks them out and places them in a jar. She could make a Sex spell with them, her cheeks pinken again at the thought, for someone who is having trouble preforming in bed.

Once she has fixed her hair with a simple green ribbon and at least powdered her cheeks with some rogue, she heads downstairs in her house slippers. She never wore shoes indoors, cleaning was always a pain for her so she tries to keep the mess as minimal as possible. She finds her rescuer outside petting a beautiful horse's nose, talking calmly to it. He looks up and smiles at the vision of her. She looks a proper lady, but he was not trying to change her. He loved her wild nature as a witch, how free she was. He introduces her to his steed and she is in love with the big black brute of a horse. Said animal is calm and friendly with her, as if to make his rider seem a liar. She giggles and tells him that animals for some reason calm around her, no matter how ferocious they are at first. Very few animals do not like her or will keep attacking if she is near by. She tells him that she knows what had attacked the children, but it was not an animal.

A Wendigo.

She describes the horrific creature to him and how to tell a Wendigo from another human. She did not think one had moved so close to them, but with their ravenous appetites she is not all that shocked. When he asked her what she meant, she tells him that a full grown Wendigo, one who has mastered their transformation and their hunger can spend months, even years among a village and only eat one or two humans a year because they learned, like the rest of them how best to get the meat they want, preserve it and make it last. The Wendigo who killed the children was young, they will eat entire villages within three weeks of establishing the territory. They always leave so much 'meat' behind because they have yet to learn the value of not wasting food. While humans can reproduce fairly quickly, they do not do it nearly as quick as certain animals and that often leads to hunting issues.

She educates him on all she knows about the Flesh Eaters and after complaining that all her tools were back in her hut, he leads her to a grand work room where she finds her belongings, her herbs and potions, her books and tools! She even sees new ones and gasps. He tells her there is a local coven of witches, the most trouble they cause is during the full moons when they parade through the square naked and drunk, giggling and singing all night long. She laughs and explains that it is to celebrate Mother Moon and to grant fertility to all the womenfolk of the town. He blinks and his mouth falls open in awe. She smiles and tells him she will teach him all about Magic and what it means to truly be a Witch later, but for now she needs to make him a special talisman and a pouch of purification powder.

He watches her as she works, amazed and falling further in love with her, seeing the firm wrinkles of her concentration crease her brow while her lips move soundlessly, he is not sure if she is just mumbling to herself or if she is casting spells and enchantments. Either way it mesmerizes him. It takes her a few hours, but when she is done, he carefully pins the talisman under his lapel and ties the pouch on his hip. She tells him to place a ring of powder around himself to keep him from being hurt by the Wendigo, but it can also be used to trap it. She then hands him a strange bullet. It is silver by what he can see with a glass like housing around a milky substance. She tells him that he needs to shoot into the Wendigo, even if he does not kill it with the shot, the bullet is designed to still kill it after it's been shot. She only had time to make one so he needs to make it count.

He thanks her, pulls her into a soul searing kiss and leaves. She waits for weeks, nervous and frightened that he's been killed or she has been tricked and an angry mob would soon be at her door. She did meet the local Coven and they were a lovely group of women and they kept her company as well as helped her get the things she needed. She got a good laugh when they did their monthly ritual and the local Lawmen, new ones by the bright red flushes of their faces could do nothing to stop them, the Elder Lawman with them had merely chuckled and called to the old woman, walking naked holding her cane and a thick candle in her hand. Granny as she was fondly called by everyone just cackles wetly and flirts with the older man, who just laughing says he will lock them all up at dawn. She panicked, but Granny had simply laughed at his threat and kept on her slow shambling circuit of the square.

Some of the younger witches assure her that they have not been arrested before, only Granny and that was when the Coven first arrived when Granny had been but a little girl. Back then the town was very against them but as Granny grew older, they started to see that the Witches didn't do anything bad, except the odd hex or a drunken accident with new spells. They protected the town and the people, were allowed to preform their rituals and celebrations, the only issue is the Full Moon, but by now it's something of a running gag with the whole town. Sometimes the women of the town join them, especially those having issue getting pregnant and within the month they are carrying a new babe in their wombs.

The Witches are the town healers and midwives and help the local Lawmen and hunters deal with some of the more dangerous magical menaces. It helps to calm her down and distract her. They were very taken with her, having heard from the town's Land Lord, Lord Thorin that it was her who had helped his late wife fight as long as she could and sooth her into a peaceful rest. They wanted to learn from her, learn what healing magics she developed and compare them to their own. So when Lord Thorin came back, she was very happy and a bit bewildered that he was a Land Lord. One would think of a woodsman or even a huntsman, not a lord! He smiled and told her that they found the Wendigo and killed it, it went after more children while she had been imprisoned and even recently killed one of the elders who went to tend to the graves. However his smile dims and falls when he informs her that they are still blaming her for the Wendigo and the deaths, calming she summoned it and that she made a deal with the devil.

She was heartbroken to learn she was never going back to her quiet home in the forest, but that was fine, she had a Coven now and perhaps if he were willing, a husband. By mid winter they were wed, the celebration held on a Full Moon, winter being the only months when prancing around naked was not advisable, but there were other fertility rituals they could use instead and the whole town joined in. By the end of that week hardly a married woman was not pregnant. By the late summer to early fall months, many new babies had been born, among them was a pair of healthy twins that the young Witch had born for her beloved Thorin. He had been overjoyed and named them after the Sun and Moon, calling them, his children and wife, his universe.

However all good things come to an end. The Mayor of the small town that the Witch had originally lived in had come to speak with the Mayor of the larger town about organizing a Witch Hunt. While this town was more open to Witches and Creatures who did not bring undue harm to the townfolk, they did have Witch Hunts for those who go rogue and cause havoc. Even the local Coven help to hunt them down and depending on their crimes, they are the ones who exact punishment. However the Mayor of the larger town could tell this small town Mayor would kill anything that wasn't like him, no matter if they were innocent or not. But he still had to humor the man. So they went around the town asking the best hunters and trackers if they would be willing help hunt down a rogue who supposedly summoned a Wendigo on the smaller town and killed several children and a few elders. Many could see the subtle look on his face and either said yes just to get the outsider to leave sooner than later or said no because they did not want to hurt some poor soul who did not do anything to deserve this treatment. The final person was their Land Lord, he use to be in the army and is no stranger to the strange and queer.

They walked up to his mansion, the small town Mayor was instantly envious of the grand home and as they got closer they can hear the sounds of young babies and the bright laughter of women. The Mayor knew the Coven was visiting with their Lady Witch and hoped that they were not mid ritual as he grabs the rope and pulls it, above them a series of bells ring in a lovely little tune and the door opens. But before the Mayor can speak, the small town Mayor screams in rage and lunges at the young Witch, who gasps and falls back. The women all scream and the babies begin crying. It is mayhem. Their mayor is struggling to get the enraged man off his Lord's wife, but anger lends one superhuman strength and power. Thorin, who had been in his office rushes in and tackles the other male off his wife, Granny quickly drops to her knees and begins checking his wife, she is battered and terrified, but alive.

Demanding to know what the hell is going on, Thorin easily keeps the other Mayor pinned. His own Mayor explains everything and Thorin grits out that the so-called Rogue this idiot is after is his wife, that they injustly arrested her had a farce of a trail. He details how his wife did not defend herself because she knew they would not listen to her. Even now, after they hunted and killed the culprit, they still claim she is the one who did it and have been looking for her for the last year. He admits to breaking her out of jail, but he wasn't about to see an innocent woman burned at the stake for something she did not do. That until the first string of deaths, no one had ever held animosity toward her.

His Mayor frowns and agrees that he would have done the same, that the young woman did not deserve such harsh treatment or an unjust death. The raving Mayor is gobsmacked and begins ranting that they are bewitched. Thorin tosses him off his front stoop and grabs up his hunting rifle and aims it at the Mayor, glaring at him. He tells him if he does not leave them alone, does not leave his wife alone, he will kill him. She left their town and is now no longer their concern or their problem. If she turned out to be evil, they would deal with her. And the man flees. They should have known better than to think this was the end.

Not even a week later, Thorin was taking his twins to see Granny one last time before she died, she was far too old and knew her end was coming and wanted to say goodbye. His wife had been feeling ill this morning so she begged him to take the babies while she tried to cure her malady by the next morn to give Granny her final farewell as well. Granny was all smiles and mischief, you would hardly believe she was dying. She held up two charmed bracelets one with a sun for his son Solin and a moon for his daughter Lunarose. She told him to give give this necklace, it had a multipointed star with the image of a sun and moon in its center to his wife and to not feel bad that she did not come say goodbye. He agreed and took it, he said goodbye for them both and he had barely stepped out of her hut before her daughters and granddaughter began wailing, signaling she had passed away. With his heart heavy, he headed home, only to see a long line of people by the town well and others running up the path to his home. His heart leaps into his chest and he quickly hands his children to the Mayor's wife and eldest daughter as he runs up the path, the manor is ablaze and he quickly grabs a bucket dumps the water onto himself and runs through the flames, ignoring the shouts and cries.

His sole focus is finding his wife, he searches through the sea of flames and finds her on the floor of her work room. He quickly picks her up and runs back out, he his hit in the face with a piece of hot metal that hits him in the eye, but he does not falter as he hurries out. He bursts out of the building and water is tossed on them both to make sure they are not burning. He ignores the horrified gasps at his face as he carefully pats his wife's cheek. When she does not stir, he shakers her a bit, but nothing. He calls her name, his voice slowly raising in pitch as he grows frantic. The people who are gathered watch on with dawning horror and the men pull their hats off their heads as the women begin to sob and wail. He gently cups her cheek and that is when he sees it, her neck is red and raw with rope burns and there, right there is a bit of a noose burnt from the fire.

His wife would not commit suicide and even then she was found in her work room, there was nowhere to hand a rope. He kisses her brow, gently lays her down, crossing her hands across her stomach and taking his white handkerchief, opens it and lays it over her face. Everyone is silent and then he stands up. He knows who did this, he knows exactly who needs to hunt down and kill. He turns to the mayor, he must know to because he simply shakes his head mournfully and looks at the twins. Thorin looks too, but knows he will never see his children grow up. He hugs them, kisses them one last time, imprints their smell and faces to his memory before he gives the necklace meant for his wife and tells the mayor that his daughter gets it when she is of age and tell it it was her mother's. He turns on heel and marches into the forest...

It would be months later that word of masacere finally reached the other towns and villages, months before they hear that a Demon had been found among the burn skeletal remains of the village, months before they heard the demon was killed inside of a Witch's hut deep in the woods not too far from the village. The Mayor and his wife kept the twins and raised them as their own, telling them wonderful stories of their birth parents. How strong and brave their father had been, man of justice and great kindness, but devil if you crossed him. How their mother had been a gentle woman, gifted with magic and beauty, a healer, but also a bit mischievous when the mood struck. They never let the twins learn of their father's fate, claiming the day their mother died, his heart broke and he died right beside her. They had secretly retrieved his body and buried them in the family crypt together hoping that by doing so Thorin would find peace in the afterlife and that he was with his beloved again.

The years passed, time moved on and time changed things, the small town was soon lost to history, now nothing more than ruined buildings and haunted graveyards. A small city grew not that far away, the old town was now a historical landmark and often used for haunted tours during the fall to scare tourists and young townies. Some Historians, the odd paranormal group, both professional and even those run by teens and young College students, came to investigate the ruins and often tried to find the Demon's resting place, hoping to talk with the Demon to find out the truth behind the legends...


End file.
